"After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey will hold its final performances in May," said a statement from Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, the family business which has run the circus since the late 1960s.
Sep Outside Love - A life-size bronze statue of Cilla Black has been unveiled outside Liverpool's Cavern Club as the venue celebrates its 60th anniversary. The club, credited with launching the career of The Beatles, opened its doors on 16 January 1957 as a jazz cellar. Crowds gathered in Mathew Street to see the sculpture which shows a young Cilla performing one of her early songs. The TV celebrity and 1960s singing star, who died in 2015, started work as a cloakroom attendant at the club.
Country File - Kris Kristofferson is to play the Pyramid Stage in Glastonbury this year, according to the singer's official website. A spokesman for Glastonbury said the next official line-up announcement will be in the spring and would not confirm Kristofferson is in fact performing. Kristofferson, one of the most influential country singers of all time, has released 17 albums including tracks like Me And Bobby McGee and Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down.
Cash Back - The organisers of T in the Park will have to pay back a third of a £150,000 Scottish government grant awarded to help the festival relocate. The event was forced to move from Balado in Kinross to Strathallan Castle in 2015 over concerns about an oil pipeline that ran under the site. DF Concerts confirmed in November that the festival will not take place this year. Councillors gave permission for the festival to be held at Strathallan Castle for three years, following a public consultation.
Last Bus - Tommy Allsup, the guitarist who avoided Buddy Holly's fatal plane crash, has died aged 85. The rockabilly and country guitarist famously escaped death when he lost his seat on the plane in a coin toss. Hollydied on 3 February 1959 when his private plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa. With him were fellow stars Ritchie Valens and J P 'The Big Bopper' Richardson, neither of whom were originally set to travel on the doomed plane. Richardson had taken the place of country musician Waylon Jennings, while Allsup flipped a coin to see who between him and Valens would get a seat on the plane and who would have to take the bus to the next stop on the tour.
(Jim Evans)
